


Roulette

by silkinsilence



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2016-03-09
Packaged: 2018-05-25 16:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6201985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silkinsilence/pseuds/silkinsilence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Azula tastes like heaven; Azula tastes like hell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roulette

Azula tastes like smoke.

Mai used to hate that smell and that taste, and now she can't get enough of it. Cigarettes used to make her breathe through her sleeve when she was unfortunate enough to encounter a smoker on the sidewalk. Now they smell like Azula. They kiss and kiss and Mai tastes char on every inch of Azula's mouth. She might as well smoke herself for the time she spends breathing through Azula. They die together, little by little, in ash and nicotine. There is no sweeter poison than those bright red lips against her own. If this was really _love,_ maybe being with Azula would make Mai want to live, but her volatile lover makes destruction look so beautiful.

Azula tastes like perfume.

She wears a lot of it, of course, to hide the smoke. Clouds of flowers and spices, too sweet and saintly for the monstrosity that she is. It makes Mai's head spin. She hates it and loves it. There is cinnamon on Azula's tongue and cloves in her hair. Her wrists smell like roses. Mai presses kiss after kiss to skin awash in the heavy, sickly scent, and she can smell the cigarettes underneath. Azula wears her scents as a shield. Once Mai catches sight of the bottle and sees the price tag left on; when she turns to Azula in shock and confusion, there is only a smile and an answer that hits Mai like a blow, and the smell is not the same after this.

Azula tastes like blood.

There are open wounds on Mai's neck, and she tastes herself on Azula's desperate lips. Mai wishes she could say that she found it just a little bit repulsive. They leave red-brown stains on the sheets. Mai worries about scars, worries about every inch of her skin being ripped apart, worries about being too far gone to worry about any of it. They kiss and kiss and kiss, and Mai's teeth burst the plump skin of Azula's lip, and she sucks there like a vampire even as Azula's nails leave gouges in her back and pull her hair hard from the roots as some sort of retribution. Mai thinks it's only fair she gets to draw blood too.

Azula tastes like alcohol.

She's fiercer then, and wilder, and it scares Mai. There is a laugh that sends chills down her spine, but those hands are so talented that she can't find it in herself to care. She tastes wine on Azula's tongue as their teeth clash together, as they suck at tongue and lips and mouth until Mai has to come up for air. She tries to focus only on enjoyment, but their relationship would not be what it is without these cold reminders. So Mai drinks scotch second-hand, Azula's kisses as sterile as an operating room, and she thinks about how much Azula loathes alcohol, and the hand that poured her cup after cup.

Azula tastes like salt.

Mai hates that taste more than any of the others. She doesn't have the words for any of this. She can feel the tracks of dried tears on Azula's cheeks when their faces are close together. Those golden eyes are so much brighter when they've been crying, and Mai hates herself for finding it beautiful. She wants to ask what it is, what she can do, but she lacks the words and the courage. They only kiss, and do more than kiss, and Mai wishes she weren't so useless. The things she want to say remain in the back of her mind, and she pretends that touches are enough. She is along for the ride in a car nobody is driving.

Azula tastes like love.

(this is love, is it not?)

**Author's Note:**

> I've written so many Maizula shorts on tumblr, and I don't really know how to post them here. But here's this one, because I reread it and was happy with it. As always, comments greatly appreciated!


End file.
